INTRODUCTION

Production Planning is a managerial function which is mainly concerned with the

following important issues:

What production facilities are required?

How these production facilities should be laid down in the space available for

production? and

How they should be used to produce the desired products at the desired rate of production?

Broadly speaking, production planning is concerned with two main aspects:

(i) routing or planning work tasks

Production planning is dynamic in nature and always remains in fluid state as plans may have to be
changed according to the changes in circumstances.

Production control is a mechanism to monitor the execution of the plans. It has several

important functions:

 Making sure that production operations are started at planned places and planned times.

 Observing progress of the operations and recording improperly.

 Analyzing the recorded data with the plans and measuring the deviations.

 Taking immediate corrective actions to minimize the negative impact of deviations from

the plans.

 Feeding back the recorded information to the planning section in order to improve

future plans.

OBJECTIVES AND BENEFITS

• Minimize costs / maximize profits

• Maximize customer service

• Minimize inventory investment

• Minimize changes in production rates

• Minimize changes in work-force levels

• Maximize the utilization of plant and equipment

FUNCTIONS OF PRODUCTION CONTROL

• The main objective of production function is to produce the goods and services demanded by the

customers in the most efficient and economical way.

• Therefore, efficient management of the production function is of utmost importance in order to

A production system can be defined as a transformation system in which a saleable product or service is
created by working upon a set of inputs. Inputs are usually in the form of men, machine, money,
materials etc.

Production systems are usually classified on the basis of the following:

Type of product,

Type of production line,

Rate of production,

Equipments used etc.

They are broadly classified into three categories:

Job shop production

Batch production

Mass production

Job shop Production

In this system products are made to satisfy a specific order. However that order may be produced only
once or at irregular time intervals as and when new order arrives or at regular time intervals to satisfy a
continuous demand The following are the important characteristics of job shop type production system:

 Machines and methods employed should be general purpose as product changes are quite

frequent.

 Planning and control system should be flexible enough to deal with the frequent changes in

product requirements.

 Man power should be skilled enough to deal with changing work conditions.

 Schedules are actually nonexistent in this system as no definite data is available on the

product.

 In process inventory will usually be high as accurate plans and schedules do not exist.

Product cost is normally high because of high material and labor costs.

 Grouping of machines is done on functional basis (i.e. as lathe section, milling section etc.)

This system is very flexible as management has to manufacture varying product types.

 Material handling systems are also flexible to meet changing product requirements.

Batch Production
Batch production is the manufacture of a number of identical articles either to meet a specific

order or to meet a continuous demand. Batch can be manufactured either-only once or repeatedly

at irregular time intervals as and when demand arise or repeatedly at regular time intervals to

satisfy a continuous demand The following are the important characteristics of batch type

production system:

 As final product is somewhat standard and manufactured in batches, economy of scale

can be availed to some extent.

 Machines are grouped on functional basis similar to the job shop manufacturing.

 Semi automatic, special purpose automatic machines are generally used to take

advantage of the similarity among the products.

 Labor should be skilled enough to work upon different product batches.

 In process inventory is usually high owing to the type of layout and material handling

policies adopted.

 Semi automatic material handling systems are most appropriate in conjunction with the

semi automatic machines.

Mass Production

In mass production, same type of product is manufactured to meet the continuous demand of the

product. Usually demand of the product is very high and market is going to sustain same demand

for sufficiently long time.

The following are the important characteristics of mass production system:

As same product is manufactured for sufficiently long time, machines can be laid down in

order of processing sequence. Product type layout is most appropriate for mass

production system.

Standard methods and machines are used during part manufacture. Most of the equipments are semi
automatic or automatic in nature. Material handling is also automatic (such as conveyors).

Semi skilled workers are normally employed as most of the facilities are automatic.

As product flows along a pre defined line, planning and control of the system is much easier.

Cost of production is low owing to the high rate of production.

In process inventories are low as production scheduling is simple and can be implemented with ease.
PRODUCT DESIGN

Product design is a strategic decision as the image and profit earning capacity of a small

firm depends largely on product design. Once the product to be produced is decided by the

entrepreneur the next step is to prepare its design. Product design consists of form and

function. The form designing includes decisions regarding its shape, size, color and

appearance of the product. The functional design involves the working conditions of the

product. Once a product is designed, it prevails for a long time therefore various factors are

to be considered before designing it. These factors are listed below: -

(a) Standardization

(b) Reliability

(c) Maintainability

(d) Servicing

(e) Reproducibility

(f) Sustainability

(g) Product simplification

(h) Quality Commensuration with cost

(i) Product value

(j) Consumer quality

(k) Needs and tastes of consumers.

Above all, the product design should be dictated by the market demand. It is an important

decision and therefore the entrepreneur should pay due effort, time, energy and attention

in order to get the best results.

TYPES OF PRODUCTION

Broadly one can think of three types of production systems which are

mentioned here under: -

(a) Continuous production

(b) Job or unit production

(c) Intermittent production

(a) Continuous production: - It refers to the production of standardized products with a standard
set of process and operation sequence in anticipation of demand. It is also known as mass flow

production or assembly line production This system ensures less work in process inventory and

high product quality but involves large investment in machinery and equipment. The system is

suitable in 117plants involving large volume and small variety of output e.g. oil refineries reform

cement manufacturing etc.

(b) Job or Unit production: - It involves production as per customer's specification each batch

or order consists of a small lot of identical products and is different from other batches. The

system requires comparatively smaller investment in machines and equipment. It is flexible and

can be adapted to changes in product design and order size without much inconvenience. This

system is most suitable where heterogeneous products are produced against specific orders.

(c) Intermittent Production: Under this system the goods are produced partly for inventory

and partly for customer's orders. E.g. components are made for inventory but they are combined

differently for different customers. Automobile plants, printing presses, electrical goods plant

are examples of this type of manufacturing.

Intermittent production

• Under this system the goods are produced partly for inventory and partly for customer's
orders.

• E.g. components are made for inventory but they are combined differently for different
customers..

• Automobile plants, printing presses, electrical goods plant

Dispatching is the routine of setting productive activities in motion through the release of

orders and necessary instructions according to pre-planned times and sequence of operations

embodied in route sheets and loading schedules.

In other words, once a job is in an area where an operation is to be performed, it has to be

determined when and by whom the job will be processed and also the sequence of waiting

orders to be processed. The decision of assigning the various jobs to different machines and

equipment is called Dispatching.

Functions of Dispatching:

 To check the availability of input materials and ensure the movement of material from

store to first process and then from process to process.

 To ensure the availability of all production and inspection aids.

 To obtain the requisite drawings, specifications and material lists.

 To assign the work appropriate machine, workplace and men.

 The issue of job orders authorizing operations in accordance with dates and times

previously planned and entered on load charts and route sheets.

 The issue of time tickets, instruction cards and other required items to the workers

who are to perform the various activities.

 The issue of inspection orders after each operation in order to determine result

regarding the quality of products if excessive spoilage occurs, to find out its causes.

 Clean up on jobs, collection of time tickets, blueprints and instruction cards and their

return to appropriate section of production control deptt.

 To ensure that the work is forwarded to next deptt. or storeroom etc.

 To record the beginning and completion times of jobs on time tickets for calculation

of time interval. To forward time ticket to accounts deptt for preparing wages.

 To record and report idle time of men and machines and request for corrective action

required.

Dispatching Procedure:

In the decentralized dispatching, the manufacturing orders are issued in blanket way
to the Engineer/Foreman/Supervisor. He must then determine the relative sequence in which

these orders will be taken up within the department.

It is the duty of the person (may be Foreman/Supervisor) concerned to dispatch these

orders and to ensure that the required material is available at each machine and operator. In

such cases the dispatch of material must be completed in the department on or before the

prescribed date.

Chart in Fig. illustrates the sequence of dispatching operation for intermittent

manufacturing system from the issue of manufacturing orders to the end of dispatching

operation.

From the manufacturing order list of assemblies, sub-assemblies and parts is prepared.

Route sheets are prepared for various components/parts and assemblies etc.

These route sheets indicate the input materials operation to be performed and their

sequence. Further the time allowances are entered against each operation along with the date

when it should start and finish. Along-with details of tools, jigs and fixtures required.